With ongoing trade wars fueling deep-seated fears of a recession, gold has been a cynical beneficiary, driving to unprecedented heights. Up until recently, the underlying mining complex had lagged the performance of the precious metal. Subsequently, astute investors saw an opportunity to latch onto a woefully undervalued sector. For speculators of AngloGold Ashanti (AU), the rewards have been immense.
Headquartered in resource-rich South Africa, AngloGold operates in its home continent, along with the Americas and Australia. Primarily, the company explores for gold, with its flagship Geita project located in Tanzania. Since the start of the year, AU stock has gained an impressive 58.15%. For context, the benchmark exchange-traded fund SPDR Gold Trust (GLD) moved up just under 16% during the same period.
